MOBILE, Alabama - Not many of the participants in USA Boxing's 42nd annual Junior Olympic National Championships get a kiss from a cornerman before entering the ring. In the ring - yes, a boxer is liable to catch one right in the kisser.

But for Melody Montes of Kissimmee, Fla., the pre-fight kiss is OK. It's her dad doing the kissing.

Montes is one of the 15- and 16-year-old boxers competing at the Arthur R. Outlaw Convention Center this week for whom the Junior Olympic National Championships are a family affair. They come from boxing families.

Montes in the girls' 119-pound weight class, Keoni Adric Jr. of Haleima, Hawaii, in the boys' 132-pound class and Manjaro Hills Jr. of Baker, La., in the boys' 165-pound division were among the boxers who won semifinal bouts this afternoon who said their interest in the sport started at home.

Adric started boxing when he was 8.

"My dad started training me at home," he said. "He used to box before, and I used to go and watch him. My old coach, coach Silva, he told my dad, 'You're too old for boxing now, so train your son. He has more of a chance of being a champion.'"

At 15, Adric fought in the Ukraine last month after making the U.S. team by winning at the Junior World Team Open in January in Las Vegas.

While the other fighters entering the ring at the convention center put on the red or blue headgear, Adric comes completely decked out in yellow. His club colors have served him well as he defeated Charlie Sheehy of Brisbane, Calif., 3-0 for his third victory of the tournament.

"He was throwing a lot of counters and catching me on some punches," Adric said, "but I was pressuring him so I could catch him in the later rounds when he got tired."

Adric will face Andres Cortes of Henderson, Nev., for the boys' lightweight championship on Saturday afternoon.

Like Adric, Hills has international experience. He went to Russia with the U.S. Veles Cup team last year.

"It was a different experience for me," Hills said. "I saw some styles, you might say international styles, that aren't the same as in America. I got some good tools to go into my belt."

Hills said he grew up in boxing.

"It's kind of like a family business," he said. "My dad, my grandpa and my uncles - a boxing family. I grew up with the gloves."

Hills hopes to be the member of his family who goes down in boxing history.

"I want to be one of the best that ever did it," he said. "I want to become legendary."

Hills lost in the semifinals of last year's Junior Olympic National Championships in Mobile. This year, he defeated Suray Mahmutovic of Daly City, Calif., 3-0 in the semifinals. Mahmutovic went to the Victory Day Tournament in the Ukraine in May after making the U.S. traveling team at the Junior World Team Open.

"I'm glad to move on in this tournament," Hills said. "It's a pretty good tournament. The best of the best are here, the cream of the crop."

Hills will face Vernon Lee of Rock Island, Ill., in the middleweight title bout on Saturday.

Montes brawled her way to a 3-0 victory over Juanita Chavez of Racine, Wis., in a semifinal match this afternoon.

"It was supposed to look cleaner from my standards," Montes said. "I box, but if I try to go aggressive I try to do it intelligently."

Montes started boxing nine years ago.

"The family from both sides has boxing," she said. "I fell in love with it when I was a little girl.

"I think it's equal for all of us, but for us being females, we have to push it even more because not many people expect a female boxer."

Montes' long-term goal is to represent the United States at the 2016 Summer Games in Rio de Janeiro.

"I'm really working for that right there," she said. "If I put my mind into it, hard work and dedication, doing what my coaches tell me, being disciplined and respectful, I think I've got a pretty good shot."

Her immediate goal, though, is to repeat as a Junior Olympic National Champion. She'll take on Jayda Thomas of Detroit in the girls' bantamweight final on Saturday.

Ruben Villa of Salinas, Calif., also has the chance to earn another Junior Olympic National Championships crown. He won the light bantamweight championship in Mobile last year. On Saturday, he'll face Devin Haney of Las Vegas in a bantamweight final that will match boxers with international experience.

Villa went to Russia for the Veles Cup after winning in Mobile last year. Haney earned a trip to the Ukraine for the Victory Day Tournament in May after taking a Junior World Team Open title.